The 1991 Draper Prize
In 1991, the Draper
Prize was awarded to Sir Frank Whittle and Dr. Hans von Ohain
for development and reduction to practice of the turbojet
engine. Unaware of each other's efforts, von Ohain worked
in Germany and Whittle in England during World War II.
The Draper Prize was endowed in 1988
by The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., of Cambridge,
Massachusetts, in memory of its founder and to increase public
understanding of the contributions of engineering and technology
to society. The prize is awarded annually. It is among the
world's largest engineering awards.
Dr.
Charles Stark Draper, known as the "father of inertial navigation",
led the effort that brought inertial navigation into operational
usage in aircraft, missiles, submarines, and space vehicles.
He was head of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, which later
was renamed in his honor and became an independent, not-for-profit
corporation in 1973.
For
additional information about the Draper Prize, contact Daniel
N. Whitt Jr., National Academy of Engineering (NAE) awards
administrator, at 202-334-1237 or visit the NAE
Web or contact Kathleen Granchelli, Communications Director,
Draper Laboratory, at 617-258-2605
The Draper Prize Recipients
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Sir
Frand Whittle became an
aircraft apprentice in the Royal Air Force in 1923 after graduating
from Leamington College. He graduated from the RAF College
(Cranwell) in 1928, from the RAF Officers' School of Engineering
in 1934, and from Cambridge University in 1936, where he studied
for the Mechanical Sciences Tripos. His 1928 thesis discussed
gas turbines and jet propulsion, and in a 1930 patent application,
he outlined the concept of the modern turbojet engine. Delayed
by funding difficulties, Whittle got a test model running
in 1937; his design's first successful flight was in 1941.
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Hans
J.P. Von Ohain obtained
his doctoral degree in physics in 1935 from the University
of Goettingen. Unlike Whittle, he quickly got commercial backing
for his research. By 1937, he had successfully tested an engine
in his workshop; his design's first successful flight was
in 1939.
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